Kirkham Motorsports Assembly Manual

David Kirkham · #1 (**permalink**) 08-04-2007, 04:28 PM

This is some of the stinkiest stuff ever created on earth. I personally HATE the stuff...but man does it stick! We have tried everything and NOTHING sticks like this goo.

David Kirkham · #2 (**permalink**) 08-04-2007, 04:36 PM

This is one of those times you really need a "buddy" to "help" you. If you are reallllllllly lucky, you can convince him to do it while you go search for parts, pick up cold drinks, go out for burritos, mow your lawn, do some of your wife's honey-do's or best of all, watch SHARK WEEK. If you are not very lucky, then you will need one of these. They are the only thing that will work to keep the fumes out. Even in the dead of winter, we open the overhead door, put a BIG fan in the door, and suck the fumes out. I don't care about the heating cost, but the fumes are deadly. I will never understand how how kids concentrate these fumes and breathe them!

On the bright side, if you or your friends had burritos for lunch, it'll save your nose...but your eyes may still burn

David Kirkham · #3 (**permalink**) 08-04-2007, 04:37 PM

Carefully coat BOTH sides of the parts you want to stick together. In this case, coat the fender foam and then the fender. Don't make a mess or get it on your clothes; it is impossible to get out.

Let them DRY to the touch and then say a prayer. You have to pray to the Cobra gods that you get it right on the first stick--because you will NOT get another chance. Once this stuff touches each other in the dry state, it is permanent! You HAVE to push the CENTER of the fender foam in first to stick the center down. DO NOT BRIDGE the center of the fender and expect to push the foam into place up into a hole. It will never stick. I have NEVER understood this. If you put it where you don't want it, you will have to TEAR it off to change positions. If you push it up into a hollow without sticking the center first, it will fall off. This is really one of the worst jobs on the car.

BUT, this is what a really nice job looks like. We actually cut the foam way over sized and then glue it in with the edges hanging out all over the place. We then trim the sides to perfect fit. DO NOT try to fit your foam in perfectly before you glue it in. You will miss and have a crappy job on your hands. You don't have to cover every square inch of exposed aluminum. Rocks are generally only thrown rather straight up.

This is a shot of the top of the left rear fender.

Forward is to the right in this picture. If you look closely at the bottom edge of the foam by the fender lip, you can see we took a small hand grinder and tapered the foam so it didn't stick out so much and look bad. If you are lazy and don't want to trim it (or you really want to have a LOT of fun), just take a few laps around Miller Motorsports Park (or drive up the nearest canyon) and your tire will do the trimming for you.

David Kirkham · #4 (**permalink**) 08-04-2007, 04:43 PM

Here is a picture of the left front fender finished. Forward it to the left in the picture.

David Kirkham · #5 (**permalink**) 08-05-2007, 04:36 PM

The hole in the interior panel (left side of the picture) in the nose of the car is for the fresh air system. The hole in the panel on the right of the picture is where the fresh air goes into the driver's side foot box. The panel on the right is the panel that we remove to put the engine in.

David Kirkham · #6 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 11:16 AM

Finally, I am sneaking away to get back on this manual. I hope there is not a lynch mob waiting for me at the next event because of my absence...

I am getting calls every day on this now--many from customers of other manufacturers. I never figured other people would use this to help them get their cars together. You guys are really creative! Regardless, I am glad we can help any way we can. Feel free to call or to drop me a line if you have any questions and we will do our best to help you any way we can.

David Kirkham · #7 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 11:32 AM

On to the roll bar.

Over the years, many people have wanted their roll bar chromed because it really looks nice. There is a HUGE problem with chrome, however. The chrome plating process is horribly toxic and is heavily regulated in the US--as it should be. As such, chrome plating is really expensive here in the US. We could have our roll bars plated overseas, but that would just move the 2 headed babies from here to there...

Chrome is extremely thin and as anyone who has an old 65 Mustang knows, chrome pits, and looks like the driver's seat of that guy who missed his braking point at our last Miller Motorsports event. Chrome scratches; chrome sucks. There had to be a better way...

Hello Stainless! There are severals alloys of stainless to choose from. So, why did we choose 321? Well, it was the only acceptable alloy we could get in the size we needed (1.500 inches x 0.125 wall) in Poland--or actually, Switzerland to be more exact. 321 is alloyed with a small amount of titanium and you know it if you have ever tried to work with it. It is a BEAST! But it polishes exceptionally well and looks like a million bucks.